Kings Trade for Veteran Jarome Iginla with Visions of Repeating History

Get in and you can win.

This has been the not-so-subtle philosophy of the Los Angeles Kings over the past decade, and as they add veteran Jarome Iginla to the roster after a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday afternoon, the club has reassured everyone in the hockey world that its foundational mantra isn't changing anytime soon.

Iginla was acquired from the Avalanche for a conditional 2018 fourth-round draft pick, while Colorado will retain 50 percent of his $5.3 million salary in the trade, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

Iginla becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, and is the second big-name rental player the Kings have picked up in three days, as they also acquired pending UFA goaltender Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this week in a trade that shocked some and confused many.

After the deal for Iginla—one that brings in an aging 39-year-old with a declining skill set but lots of experience—the Kings are clearing up any confusion surrounding their position in the standings and expectations of making the postseason. LA currently sits on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture looking in, but will do all it can to ensure one of the few spots up for grabs belongs to them.

The Kings desire that last playoff spot badly because they know, better than any other club in the league, how open things become in the NHL postseason if you can manage to sneak in.

During their first of two Stanley Cup championships in three seasons in 2012, the Kings were the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and 13 out of 16 overall in the NHL as the regular season wrapped up. The scrappy, Darryl Sutter-led club peaked at exactly the right time, defeating the top overall seed Vancouver Canucks in five games before sweeping the second-seeded St. Louis Blues in round two. The Kings pulled off the Cinderella run by marching through the Phoenix Coyotes and New Jersey Devils to become the first No. 8 seed in major North American professional sports history to win a championship.

Though it is a rare feat and the Kings remain the only No.8-seeded champion in NHL history, other No. 8s have made serious runs in recent years, too. The Philadelphia Flyers (2010), Edmonton Oilers (2006), Anaheim Ducks (2003), Buffalo Sabres (1999), and Vancouver Canucks (1994) all made magical runs to the Stanley Cup Final after limping into the postseason. Iginla, who recently made it clear he wanted to be traded to a playoff team, reunites with his former bench boss Sutter, who coached the Flames during a surprising Cup run of their own in 2004, when Iginla captained the team all the way to a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Lightning.

The Edmonton, Alberta, native currently ranks No. 14 all-time in games played (1,535), No. 16 in goals (619) and No. 34 in points (1291), and will most likely finish his career with the Kings in Los Angeles with hopefully (for everyone's sake) one last chance to compete for that elusive Stanley Cup.